Coffee flavoured cake with a caramel and coffee buttercream, hmmm now that’s something I wish I can have every day. Coffee cupcake is more like the best treat to beat any Monday blues 
So let me be honest, I really don’t like coffee cake, I never really comprehend the desire for coffee cake. Don’t get me wrong but I love coffee and when I first moved to France, I started loving coffee.
At home I never really liked it, in fact, I never had a cup of coffee when I woke up. I was a big fan of Milo the ready-made drink. When I moved to France, the country where you can never go out and not have “un cafe” is like ‘oh my god who are you’. so I slowly started to grow into liking coffee. The days I had to wake up at 3 a.m to study, coffee definitely became my best friend.
Many of my followers on Instagram asked for a coffee cake recipe, side note if you are not following me on Instagram, do so now and I was very resistant because if I don’t like something, why would I make it. but since I love my followers so much I decided to do a coffee cake recipe. well, let me tell you I am converted now. Coffee cake has become my number one flavour and all thanks to my fellow followers who requested it.
Now for this recipe, I am going to make it a bit fancy and do a caramel coffee buttercream, why??? because I love caramel latte so why not take that flavour to a cake.
Can I use brewed coffee instead of instant coffee?
No, you cannot use brewed coffee. because to get the intense flavour you need instant coffee, if turned to a liquid then a lot of liquid needs to be added to make the cake, which is no good for the cake base itself, so make sure to use instant coffee.
Do I need to dilute instant coffee before adding into the cake batter?
It really depends on what you like, I am not dissolving it because I like the visual appearance that it gives after it is baked. and it really doesn’t affect the flavour at all. If you really don’t feel comfortable of the coffee granule look, then mix it with the milk and add to the batter.
Can I use the same exact coffee cupcake recipe for a normal coffee cake?
Absolutely yes. The reason I made cupcakes were, so I can only make a small amount. this can be turned into a cake and frosted with caramel buttercream. That really sounds like a nice entertaining option for tea.
What frostings can be used?
ok coffee is great with chocolate, caramel, so you can use any of the following frostings or icing
- Chocolate buttercream
- Coffee buttercream
- Caramel and coffee buttercream
You can also check my other desserts & sweets.
Watch how to make coffee cupcakes?
How to make coffee cupcakes (step by step guide)
Equipment
- Oven
Ingredients
Cake batter
- 100 g All-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp Baking powder
- 110 g Brown sugar
- 110 g Butter
- 2 Eggs
- 10 g Milk
- 1/4 tsp Salt Table salt
- 1 1/2 tbsp Instant Coffee
Caramel
- 100 g Sugar White
- 30 g Butter
- 60 g Cream
- 3 tbsp Instant coffee
Buttercream
- 150 g Butter Soft
- 150 g Icing sugar
- 150 g Caramel
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 175C Conventional oven
- Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners. Set aside. ( 8 big cupcakes or 16 small cupcakes)
- In a small bowl mix coffee and milk together and leave aside ( Skip this step if add coffee directly to the batter, see notes above to understand if you should or should not) if not dissolving then add the instant coffee directly to the flour mixture
- In a separate bowl Sift flour & baking powder and then add salt, sugar together and leave aside
- Whisk butter and sugar together until well mixed
- Add eggs and beat for 1 minute
- Reduce speed, then add in the flour mixture
- Add in the coffee and milk mixture
- Pour batter into cup cake
- Evenly divide the batter into the cupcake liners (about 1 tbsp, which should be about ⅔ of the way up the cupcake liners).
- Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes
- Remove the cupcakes from the oven and let them cool slightly for a couple of minutes. Then carefully remove them from the muffin pan, and place them on a cooling rack to cool completely.
How to make the caramel
- Dissolve cream and coffee together and leave aside
- prepare and weigh all ingredients and keep near you when making the caramel ( The recipe needs to be done fast and you cannot move away from the pan when making it)
- Melt the white sugar in low fire and let it turn brown ( Carefully monitor the sugar, it needs to caramelize but not burn)
- When the sugar is turning brown add the butter cubes and whisk well until incorporated, then add in the cream mixture, mix well let it cook on a low heat for 1 minute.
- Leave aside to cool down
Buttercream
- Whisk butter and icing sugar together
- Add the caramel sauce ( The thickness of the caramel will vary from person to person)
- If too thick add a little cream and whisk for 1 minute
- Frost with the buttercream once the cupcakes have cooled down completely
Notes
- The caramel is a highly technical to make, so make sure you stand near the pan when making this recipe
- the caramel can get solid if the cream or butter is added before it is all melted
- After the Sugar has dissolved it needs to be whisked constantly
- when the sugar is dissolving avoid stirring the sugar, let it melt and caramelize on its own
- If you wish to use a simple coffee cream, then use the same buttercream recipe and instead of caramel add in 3 tbsp of coffee mixed with the cream.
- The buttercream will be sweet because of the caramel, if you wish, you can reduce the amount of caramel.